'I got something to prove, not to you guys or to somebody, but first of all to myself, and that's about it,' returning Nashville Predator said Monday about returning to the lineup for Game 5 on Monday.

Photograph by: Christian Petersen
, Getty Images

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Alexander Radulov’s explanation of his priorities upon reinstatement to the Nashville Predators lineup Monday greatly resembled the joke making the rounds about his curfew-busting night out with linemate Andrei Kostitsyn before Game 2:

No. 1: More shots. (Only sans alcohol, this time.) And ...

No. 2: It’s all about the W. (The win, that is, not the W hotel in Scottsdale where he and Kostitsyn were spotted tripping the light fantastic last Saturday night and Sunday morning, leading to a two-game benching by Preds coach Barry Trotz.)

Down 3-1 to the Phoenix Coyotes heading into Game 5, though, all was forgiven. The Predators surrendered just one goal in two games in Nashville and all they came out with was a split. So it’s back to all hands on deck now — with the emphasis on hands, which the Predators sadly lacked in their 1-0 Game 4 defeat at Bridgestone Arena.

Radulov, the Preds’ controversial pre-deadline reclamation from Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League gets marks for meeting with the media Monday morning, albeit briefly — though reporters were cautioned he would only answer questions about Game 5 and not, you know, the other thing.

"It's good to be back. Obviously, it's going to be hard for us, but I'm looking forward to go out there and win hockey game,” said the two-time KHL MVP, who was scheduled to play alongside defensive centre Nick Spaling, with Kostitsyn on the other wing.

“At this time of the year, you know, it basically doesn't matter who you play with, you just got to go out there and do your best, and just try to win, because we're down 3-1, so we don't have much. We just need to play hard and win the game.

“I got something to prove, not to you guys or to somebody, but first of all to myself, and that's about it."

The key, he said, to getting pucks past Coyotes’ giant goaltender, Mike Smith, is “you just have to shoot the puck and make him work, and put pressure on him like all the goalies. If you don't shoot the puck you're not going to score.”

It’s anyone’s guess what the Predators’ players, let alone Trotz, really think of Radulov and Kostitsyn, and whether they’re welcome back with open arms.

But they were all talking a good game Monday.

“I don’t think there’s a team that’s done anything special in sport that hasn’t gone through some adversity,” said Trotz. “Well, this might be our adversity. How do we respond? There’s moments that pass you by. You’ll look back 20 years from now and say, ‘That was the moment.’ Tonight might be their moment where they can be a difference and we get back into the series a little bit.

“That’s all we can do. We’re not going to win the series tonight. No team has ever won three games in one night in the NHL that I know of. So we just got to win a hockey game.”

Trotz said he told Radulov and Kostitsyn on Saturday morning, after the Game 4 loss, that they’d be back in for Game 5, even though it was a return to the scene of the crime.

“I just told them, ‘You’re back in. You can make a difference. It’s not going to be easy and people aren’t going to let you off the hook. You’re going to be judged, you’re going to be weighed, all those things,’” Trotz said. “I needed to tell them early so they could get in the right frame of mind. I wanted them to have the opportunity to prepare for success, and not just throw them in last minute.”

Veteran Mike Fisher said the incident is water under the bridge.

"Yeah, that's old news for us, we're all past it. And we need to be, we need to focus on the good things, and hopefully it'll be a big motivator for those guys, and for all of us,” he said.

"In light of everything that's happened, we expect [Radulov] to be real, real good. He loves to play, and we expect him to bring some energy and enthusiasm, like he normally does, and same as Andrei.

“We've been getting chances, we just haven't been burying anything, and both those guys can score. I think that'll be huge for us.”

“Rad’s a pretty proud guy,” Trotz said. “He wants to be part of this series and he’s going to be part of this series. He wants to make a difference.

“We will talk to him and say, ‘This is what we expect. You got to be within the format.’ If he does ... he’s a talented player who can do some things on the ice which can help us win. That’s the same with Andrei. I’m glad they want this challenge. They’re coming into a situation where we’re behind the 8-ball.

“What we did in the past and why we did it were for all the right reasons and that won’t change. But we’ve got to look forward.”

Trotz said he was glad there was an extra off-day between games.

“It allows you to sort of let it go for a second. We’re disappointed we left Nashville down by two games. But at the same time we feel we can get back in this series.”

It’s true that 3-1 is not exactly like trailing 3-0, but it’s daunting enough.

“We talked about that. Our leadership has really stepped up. We’ve got some great leaders in Suter and Weber and Pekka Rinne and Mike Fisher; and we’ve added a guy like Hal Gill who has great leadership skills and a lot of experience. I think they helped pull the thing together,” said the coach.

“In the last three years, there’s four teams that have been in 3-1 or 3-0 situations and come back to win the series. It hasn’t been done this year. Maybe that’s us.”

'I got something to prove, not to you guys or to somebody, but first of all to myself, and that's about it,' returning Nashville Predator said Monday about returning to the lineup for Game 5 on Monday.

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